Virgin's Richard Branson on track, on call

Jason Magder, Montreal Gazette05.31.2011

Virgin CEO Richard Branson grimaces as he takes off his helmet after his race to Alex Tagliani on St. Laurent Blvd. on June 11, 2010. Tagliani won the race and the $50,000 prize for the charity of his choice.

The founder and chairman of Virgin Group was in town Friday to promote both his racing team, which will take part in this weekend's Grand Prix, and a new mobile phone being offered through Virgin Mobile.

However, Branson refused to say much about a rumoured return to video games for the company. He'll be making an announcement at the E3 video game conference on Tuesday.

"All I can say is that many years ago, we have a really good games company," Branson said during an 18-minute sit-down interview at the Primadonna Restaurant on St. Laurent Blvd., at the corner of Sherbrooke St. "We actually sold it and we no longer have a games company, and we'll have to watch this space."

Branson confirmed that there would be some announcement about video games, and while many have speculated that he would start a gaming company, he said that "it's not necessarily what you are thinking."

The British trade magazine MCV reported last month Virgin would get back into gaming, offering an online-only service for video game publishers to be able to sell their games online.

Branson said he travelled to Montreal to see the Virgin-sponsored team race, and to unveil Virgin's new phone - the HTC Legend, Virgin Canada's first foray into smartphones. The Virgin Mobile Canada brand is owned entirely by Bell Canada Enterprises. While he's here, Branson will take in a Cirque du Soleil show Friday night, which he called "Montreal's most famous brand."

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